Home / Environment / Ecology and China Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Shanghai Could Lead Way in Green Growth
Adjust font size:

The booming city of Shanghai could become a model for economic growth by 2010, provided it keeps the quality of its environment in check.

 

But nationwide, it will take much longer to maintain double-digit economic growth without sacrificing the environment, Niu Wenyuan, chief scientist of sustainable development research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.

 

"Wealth accumulation in China is supported by vast energy and natural resource consumption (but there is) great pressure on the environment," Niu said in an address to the Third Leadership Program on Environment for Sustainable Development, with HSBC as one of its sponsors.

 

Niu predicted that China's environmental problems would worsen in the short term but could taper off once the GDP per capita found its equilibrium.

 

"The environment stopped deteriorating in the United States when its GDP per capita reached US$11,000, and for Japan the figure was US$8,000," Niu said, citing statistics provided by the World Bank.

 

"So it's impossible to put a break on China's environmental degradation when it has an average of US$2,000 GDP per capita."

 

Also, the scientist was optimistic that Shanghai - the nation's economic engine with a GDP per capita exceeding US$7,000 last year - and a few other first-tier cities would become the forerunners to have green GDP growth.

 

"It's highly likely that Shanghai's environment will improve with a strong GDP growth in 2010," Niu said.

 

"But a precondition is that environment quality in its surrounding areas must improve and the city is not affected by pollutants produced by the cities in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River."

 

(China Daily April 23, 2007)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous

China Archives
Related >>
- China on the Right Track Toward Green Growth
- Green GDP Shown the Red Signal
- Call for Return to Green GDP Accounting
Most Viewed >>
Air Quality 
Cities Major Pollutant Air Quality Level
Beijing particulate matter II
Shanghai particulate matter III1
Guangzhou sulfur dioxide II
Chongqing particulate matter III2
Xi'an particulate matter III1
Most Read
- White paper on energy
- Endangered monkeys grow in number
- Yangtze River's Three Gorges 2 mln years in the making
- The authorities sets sights on polluted soil
- China, US benefit from clean energy
NGO Events Calendar Tips
- Hand in hand to protect endangered animals and plants
- Changchun, Mini-marathon Aimed at Protecting Siberian Tiger
- Water Walk by Nature University
- Green Earth Documentary Salon
- Prof. Maria E. Fernandez to Give a Lecture on Climate Change
More
Archives
UN meets on climate change
The UN Climate Change Conference brought together representatives of over 180 countries and observers from various organizations.
Panda Facts
A record 28 panda cubs born via artificial insemination have survived in 2006.
South China Karst
Rich and unique karst landforms located in south China display exceptional natural beauty.
Saving the Tibetan Antelopes
The rare animals survive in the harsh natural environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
More
Laws & Regulations
- Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China
- Meteorology Law of the People's Republic of China
- Fire Control Law of the People's Republic of China
- Law on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters
- Law of the People's Republic of China on Conserving Energy
More
Links:
State Environmental Protection Administration
Ministry of Water Resources
Ministry of Land and Resources
China Environmental Industry Network
Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base